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Chapter: 17
Officially, Iryllin still didn’t know that the Crown Prince and Bin had been lovers.
I wanted to explain—no, emphasize—that none of this was Bin’s fault. But I couldn’t. The frustration left me wordless, groaning internally.
While I struggled in silence, Bin, for some reason, seemed to be studying my face with interest.
…Wasn’t this the guy who had just been forced to break up with the Crown Prince because of his parents?
In the novel, he was definitely crying at this point.
Yet there wasn’t even a trace of tears on his face.
Why does he look… strangely pleased?
“Why do you keep smiling?”
“Smiling? Me?”
Only then did Bin widen his eyes and wipe the smile from his face.
I nodded vigorously. As soon as I did, the smile that had briefly disappeared slowly tried to bloom again.
“I only just realized how pretty your eyes are. I think that’s why I keep smiling.”
“What? What do my eyes have to do with smiling?”
“Yeah, I know. But what’s that?”
Letting out a weak chuckle, Bin gestured toward the copy in my hand.
What a blatant change of subject.
I briefly explained what had happened at the art competition and handed it to him.
“Want it? I crumpled it earlier, but if you don’t mind.”
〈Why What They Share Cannot Be Called ‘Love’〉
That was the title of the piece I had submitted to the competition.
It was about how people who treated others as possessions committed acts of interference and obsession under the name of “love.”
Since “Iryllin” wasn’t supposed to know what Bin had suffered at his parents’ hands, this piece was the most comfort I could offer.
“Did you write this thinking about Brother Sis?”
Bin asked as he skimmed through it.
…In truth, I’d been thinking about obsessive parents and tops who fixated unilaterally on their bottoms. But since Sis was destined to become an obsessive sub-lead anyway, let’s just say yes.
“Yeah. Something like that.”
“It’s well written. I didn’t know you were this good with words.”
“That’s just because you didn’t know me well enough. I actually have a lot of talents.”
“I guess so. There’s so much I didn’t know….”
“So much? Other than my writing, what else?”
In response to my question, Bin only smiled quietly.
…Something’s been off for a while now.
First, he says he didn’t know my eyes were pretty. Then he talks about all these other things he didn’t know.
Maybe the shock still hasn’t worn off.
Feeling sorry for him, I decided to interfere one last time.
“Bin. Turn it all upside down.”
“What?”
“Everything that’s tormenting you. Don’t just hit back timidly once—flip it completely so they never dare mess with you again.”
“I don’t really understand what you mean.”
“I mean live like me. Look—I’ve scorched the ground around me so thoroughly that no one dares mess with me anymore.”
“…Are you saying that because you know what happened to me?”
“No. I don’t know. I’m just saying it because you look like you’re hurting.”
I said it casually. Bin fell silent for a moment, as if deep in thought, then spoke again.
“And if I lose what I have because of that?”
“What do you even have to lose? Money? Honor? Status? You’re the Young Grand Duke of Ortega. You’re not in a position to lose everything just because you act out a little.”
“What about trust?”
“You don’t need that. Look at me—does anyone in this world trust me?”
“Yes. Plenty of people do. They trust that you’ll cause trouble.”
“…Did you really have to land a direct hit like that right now?”
“Sorry.”
Bin giggled, looking not sorry at all.
Then he continued.
“I can’t flip everything upside down, but I’ll try at least hitting back once. But in return…”
“In return?”
“Promise me. If I overcome it, you’ll overcome it too.”
“Overcome what?”
“The sword.”
“Ah….”
“Promise me you’ll hold a sword, not a tree branch. And when the day comes that we’ve both overcome our fears, then…”
Pshh—!
The loudest firework yet shot into the sky.
It was as massive as the sound itself. Once it exploded, it would be time to send the carriage flying.
“Let’s spar.”
His words arrived together with the bursting fireworks.
Under the brilliant light painting the sky, Bin’s cheeks were flushed red.
Maybe because of that, he looked a little shy. Sparring wasn’t such a big deal—so why did it feel different?
“Alright.”
If—by some impossible chance—we ever met again.
I gave a hollow reply and gestured downward.
We needed to hurry if we were going to send Bin off and board the carriage.
“Looks like it’s time to launch the carriage. We’ll get in the staff’s way. Let’s go down.”
“This is where the carriage was waiting?”
“Yeah. Go on ahead.”
“…You’re not coming with me?”
“…If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“I don’t not want to.”
“Then hurry up and go.”
“Why are you telling me to go first? Did you forget something?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s go get it together and come back down.”
Ugh, just fall for it already! You were desperate to get away from me before—why are you clinging now?
Panicking, I shouted without thinking.
“No!! There’s no need!”
“Why?”
“…Because I need to fart. So please, I’m begging you—give me some space.”
Of all excuses, this is what I came up with?
What about my image—! …Though, I guess it doesn’t matter. We’re never meeting again anyway.
“…O-okay.”
Damn it. He’s stuttering. He never does that. I must’ve really thrown him off.
“I’ll wait. Come back quickly.”
“Yeah.”
Once Bin disappeared, I sprinted straight to the carriage.
Just then, I heard the staff approaching. Thankfully, I boarded the carriage before entering their line of sight.
“What the—why are there no guards?”
“The door’s broken.”
“See?! I told you we had to hurry!”
“Damn it… Let’s just launch it first.”
“Is that okay?”
“They’re too far away to see the broken door. If it becomes an issue later, we’ll just blame the guards.”
I hadn’t thought as far as how to fix the broken door—only hoped we wouldn’t be caught. Thankfully, the staff’s lack of conscience worked in my favor.
“Mana charging!”
“Charging!”
As mana poured in, I felt my body slowly lift.
When we reached high into the sky, I saw someone heading down the hill through the broken doorway.
Silver hair.
A familiar back.
I offered my final farewell.
“Goodbye. Let’s never meet again.”
A week had passed since Iryllin disappeared.
‘You’re not Iryllin, are you?’
She ran away the moment he asked.
Sis regretted how hasty he’d been. Still, he didn’t feel worried—or miss her even a little.
That didn’t change even after realizing she wasn’t the Iryllin he hated so deeply.
The only people Sis held tender feelings for in this world were Bin, the Crown Prince, and his family.
Not a hollow family in name only—but a real one that loved and protected each other.
“My dear, where in the world is our precious daughter? Is she even alive? If she was kidnapped, why hasn’t anyone demanded ransom yet?”
“Calm down. If we wait, she’ll return. Let’s be patient.”
The parents didn’t seem to consider for even a moment that Iryllin might have run away on her own.
Sis, on the other hand, could roughly guess how she’d escaped.
Because he had a secret no one else knew.
“Where are you going?”
The Marchioness asked as Sis prepared to leave.
Even so, Sis answered in a flat tone, never expecting it to be genuine concern.
“Just going out.”
“You’ve got the leisure to say ‘just going out’? We don’t even know if your sister is alive or dead! Maybe it’s because you’re a lunatic who chases after men that your thought process is so twisted.”
Sis didn’t even bother looking at her as he stepped outside.
Her verbal abuse followed him, but he paid it no mind.
It was nothing new. Sis wasn’t so fragile—or so young—that he’d be shaken by every word someone like her spat out.
He focused only on his destination.
That destination was the Imperial Palace.
The very place where, a week ago, the National Foundation Day Art Competition had been held.
Today was the day the winners would be announced.
“We will now announce the grand prize winner. The recipient is—Baek….”
The result was obvious, so Sis felt no tension as he waited.
Then suddenly, someone beside him flinched.
Sis’s gaze moved instinctively.
A faint ripple passed through his otherwise indifferent blue eyes.
“Bin?”
“…Brother?”
“Why are you here? Did you enter the competition too?”
“No. I’m just looking for someone….”
“Baek Mina!”
Baek Mina—the name called out by the announcer—was Sis’s pen name.
Despite being called, Sis felt nothing as he calmly walked forward. Bin, on the other hand, looked even more shocked.
“Baek Mina? That’s your pen name?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you choose it to match Iryllin’s?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Sis stopped, his face hardening, and walked back toward Bin.
His eyes locked onto the sheet of paper in Bin’s hand.
The moment he saw it, his heart began pounding violently.
An overwhelming urge seized him—he had to read it.
Sis snatched the paper from Bin’s hand.
As if possessed, he scanned the text—and before the title, a name caught his eye.
Baek Mona.
A name he’d heard and read since the day his memories began.
A name he could never forget, no matter how many decades passed.
The name of his one and only real family.
“…Where is Iryllin Heather right now?”
